New Delhi: A US State Department spokesperson expressed concerns about India’s relation with Russia citing Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
This response gains importance in the midst of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Russia where he had a ‘private engagement’ with Putin alongside bilateral talks.
PM Modi shared on social media his views regarding the meeting: ‘Looking forward to our talks tomorrow as well, which will surely go a long way in further cementing the bonds of friendship between India and Russia.’
Following which the State Department spokesperson responded as reported by Reuters: "I will look to Prime Minister Modi's public remarks to see what he talked about but as I said, we have made quite clear directly with India our concerns about their relationship with Russia."
The official urged India or any other country engaging with Russia to make clear to Moscow that it ‘should respect the UN Charter, should respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.’
India has been facing pressure from West 2022 to disengage with the country since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
However, India continues to bolster up its ties with Russia, irking the US and the West while urging warring parties to embrace “peace, respect for international law and support for the UN Charter”, and urged them for ‘a return to dialogue and diplomacy.’
India’s ties with Russia remains strong over the past seven decades with defence import as its pillar.
Both countries cooperated on various fronts including nuclear and space exploration alongside being Russia’s largest defence importer.
Most recently, India bought large quantity of Russian oil despite the West’s sanctions on Russia following Ukraine war.